Improvement in gas-generating apparatus



3 Sheets-Sheet I. I. N. STANLEY.

GAS GENERATING APPARATUS.

No. 180,955. Patented Aug-.8,1876.

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4/ilncsse5 6 56% N. PETERS, FHDTO-LH'HOGRAFHER, WASHINGTON, D C.

' 3Sheets-Sheet2. 1.. N. STANLEY.

GAS GENERATING APPARATUS.

No.180,9fi g ur Pateny? ug 8, 1876.-

44617165365: Inveniorf Man. 9: m1,

' imw 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

I. N. STANLEY.

GAS GENERATING APPARATUS.

Patented Aug. 8,1876.

Inventor.-

Fig.1?

Witnesses:

(TNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

IRA N. STANLEY, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND EDWARD D.WHITE, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN GAS-GENERATING APPARATUS.

Specification formingpart of Letters Patent No. 180,955, dated August 8,1876; application filed May 8, 1876.

the-construction of benches of retorts. The

retorts may be of the usual form and material, and the benchesmaypresent very nearly the usual appearance externally.

I will describe the invention as applied to a six-retort bench, thoughit will 'beunderstood that a bench of four retorts, or of any othernumber, may'be used in connection with the whole or the main portion ofthe invention, if desired.

I utilize heat heretofore lost by causing it to heat the air whichsupports combustion. I carry the hot :gaseous products of .combustionforward and back under the lower retorts. I provide a series of cross orsaddle tiles, properly supported, slightly below each retort, for thepurpose of allowing for the expension and contraction of the retorts,and supporting the same when sagged or bent by high temperature.

Thefollowingyis a description of what I consider the bestuneans ofcarrying out the invention.

The accompanying drawings form a part of this specification.

Figure 1 is a front view, partly in section. The right-hand side is afront view, and the left-hand side is a section on the line S S in Fig.2. Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal section. Fig. 3 is a section on thecrooked line T T T in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a horizontal section on the lineU U in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section on the line V V in Fig. 1.Fig. 6 is a cross-section in two planes. The right side is a sectionnear the back, on the line W W in Fig. 2. The left side is a sectionnear the front, on the line S S in Fig. 2. The construction shown in theleft side of this figure differs from that shown in Fig. 1, by showingshieldtiles employed to shield the inner sides of the middle retorts andupper retorts from being overheated. Fig. l is a central longitudinalSection through a portion at, and immediately adjacent to, the front ofthe ash-pit. Fig. 6* is a side view of a portion of one of the upperretorts, as seen from the center line of the bench.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts in all the figures. I

A A 850., are the retorts, supposed to be of'fire-brick, and equippedwith usual connections for working, in the ordinary manner, except ashereinafter set forth. B is the masonry constituting the piers, arch,and back, as usual. 0 is the ordinary grate, on which the fuel is burnedto generate heat for the operation. D is a door turning on a horizontalaxis, near the front of the incline, which communicates with theash-pit. When it is turned in one position it forbids the access of airto the ash-pit from the front, and compels it to enter through a longand peculiar passage, in which it absorbs much heat which wouldotherwise be wasted by being conducted downward into the earth. Thesepassages are marked d d. A door may be removed at the end of each toallow of cleaning at intervals. These doors are marked D D. The openingon each side farthest from the center should be left open to allow theinduction of air, which, after traversing back and forth in thesepassages and becoming heated by the waste heat conducted downwardthrough the covering-tiles D flows into the ash-pit through lateralapertures d. Above the covering-tiles D are flues e e, in which the hotproducts of combustion are traversed forward and backward under thelower retorts, immediately before their discharge into the backescapepassage e, from whence they enter the'stack. (Not representedWhile traversing the dues co the hot products of combustion are broughtinto direct contact with the lower sides of the lower retorts A A Theretorts are arranged in two tiers, with uniform spaces between them.Saddle-tiles 45 extend across and rest upon supports 3, 42, and 43,independent of the retort and of the walls, and which are likely toexpand and contract to about the same extent as the retorts, withchanges of temperature or with long use.

Each retort is, by preference, held up in its ordinary support at thefront and back, at

such height as to be a little clear of crosssupports afforded by thesaddle-tiles while the work is new; but as the retorts are repeatedlyheated and maintained at the high temperatures required in this businesswhile loaded with coal, the retorts sag a little, and in time come tothe bearings on the saddle tiles.

G indicates a division-tile placed on edge. It divides the lines 41 d,and also aids to support the work above. H indicates divisiontiles,which similarly divide the lines 6 e, and aid to support the retorts.They are recessed into the covering-tiles D Brick may be used for boththese divisions H and G, if preferred.

Referring to Figs. 6 and U, S are shieldtiles, made of a curved section,to match to the exterior of the several retorts on the inner and loweredges or corners. They are held in place by being let into the uprighttiles 43 and 44, and also into the saddle-tiles 45. The extent to whichI deem it expedient to thus interlock these parts is indicated by thedotted lines in Fig. 6; but a greater or less extent may be practicable.Ordinarily, the heated gases from the fuel on the grate 0 will risewithout obstruction to the crown, and be there diffused to each side,enveloping the upper retorts A A in the freshest and hottest bath offlame, from whence it (the current of flame) descends to the middleretorts A and to the lower retorts A successively heating all; and byreason of my flues e e under the lower retorts, the whole bench isheated with uniformity.

I provide the lower peep-hole I with a removable cover, 1, of perforatedtile, which allows a slight induction of air divided in fine streams.This hole may be opened, like the others, by the removal of thestop-tile, to allow of inspection of the degree of heating of theinterior work of the bench. The slight streams of air which enter whenthis hole is closed aid to complete the combustion. The front of thebench, (indicated in some of the figures by the letter B) is composed ofa series of tiles molded and burned in shapes, each especially adaptedfor its purpose and position.

The ordinary construction of benches either leaves the retorts withoutsuflicient support, or else cucumbers the center space with what areknown as bridge-tiles, which extend across between the saddle-tiles onone side and the corresponding saddle-tiles on the other side. Theunsupported tiers of retorts are liable to become displaced, and also tosag out of place. Those with the bridge-tiles are open to an objectionstill more serious, in the crushing in of the inner sides of the retortsat the point of bearing. The bridge-tiles seem, by the weight of theload above, to abut with such force against the hollow structure thatthe feeble coherence, when in the highly-heated condition, is not ableto withstand it.

My construction is being tested in the large way, and gives promise ofavoiding the objections to both the previous plans. My method ofconstructing the front of tiles accurately formed of the proper shapesnot only decreases the labor and expense of putting up the benches ofretorts, but also makes more stable work, by reason of the front beingin fewer pieces, with consequently fewer joints, perfectly matchedtogether.

It is well understood, in the gas-manufacturing business, that the rearor back ends of the retorts are ordinarily the hottest'parts. It isimportant to distribute or equalize the heat, which I accomplish bycausing the sheet of flame from the furnace to wrap with approximateuniformity around the top and middle of the retorts, and enter theoutermost of the bottom flues e e, not at the back end or at the frontend, but along the entire outer side of each lower retort. Afterentering the outer flue e thus along its entire length, the hot productsof combustion move forward, and, doubling around the front end of thepartition between the flues e c, it moves backward in the innermost flueand escapes at the chimney, having distributed the heat nearly uniformlyalong the entire length of the retort. The construction, therefore,besides increasing the heat in the lower retorts, materially aids torender the heat in each of the retorts uniform throughout its length.

I claim as my invention- 1. The tortuous air-heating flues d d andlateral passages 11 d, leading into the space below the grate G, asspecified.

2. The flues e 0, combined with the firechamber, and adapted to conductthe heated products of combustion above and around the retorts, andabove the air-inlet flues d d, substantially as specified.

3. The flues e 6, leading from the furnace to the escape-fines, incombination with the tortuous air-inlet flues d d leading from theexternal air to the space below the grate, for the purpose of heatingthe air previous to its admission to the furnace, as specified.

4. In combination with the retorts, supported front and rear, asdescribed, the saddletiles located slightly below the retorts, for thepurpose of allowing for the expansion and contraction of the material,and supporting the retorts when sagged or bent from high heating, asherein set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 4th day of May,1876, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

IRA N. STANLEY.

Witnesses THOMAS D. STETsoN, U. G. STETSON.

